Maternal villian

[moviemaster]

I am attempting to teach a class on 'Beowulf' and I'm trying to come up with other stories that have the mother as the villian. All I could come up with is 'Friday the 13th' and 'Alien', but I know there has to be other stories. Any example would help, be it film, tv, literature...

All help is appreciated.

[Drusilla1S]

I think Clytemnestra, the wife of Agamemnon who led the Greeks at Troy might count. She never forgave her husband for sacrificing their daughter Iphigenia to ensure victory at Troy.
While her husband was away, she took a lover and murdered her husband on his return. Her daughter, Electra feared her brother, Orestes, was also in danger from his mother and sent him into hiding. He eventually returns to avenge his father and killed his mother and her lover, Aegisthus.

[Drusilla1S]

A more modern, but possibly too realistic an example is Jeanette Winterson's crazy, religious fanatic of a mother in 'Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit.'

[colenso]

I was going to say Lady Macbeth but that's more wife than mother..

If you're including TV, how about Diana Rigg in "Mother Love".....??

[maxi29]

How about Medea who kills her children as a result of her husband, Jason's, philandering? Euripedes' play is pretty compelling stuff.

[joko]

psycho - sort of...

hand that rocks the cradle - she was a mother and came to believe the kids were hers...again sort of

carrie

[jay139]

A child called it,and the follow up books, also there is a book by jonathon kellerman about maunchessen by proxy, sorry cant rember the title hope this helps

[stoo_pid]

Apologies if some of these aren't that well known / relevant:

• Medea (Greek tragedy where mum kills her kids to get at her bloke)


• Serial Mom (John Waters comedy about serial killing mum)


• Sleepwalkers (Stephen King horror about Mother & Son alien 'vampires')


• Mother's Boys (Jamie Lee Curtis plays psycho estranged wife using her children against her husband)


• Cinderella (does evil stepmother count?)


• Snow White (ditto)


• Arthurian legend (some versions depict Morgan le Fay as using her son Mordred to fight his father, Arthur)


• Jaws 3-D (Angry great white shark seeks revenge for death of her baby)


• Mommie Dearest (Christina Crawford's story about her abusive mother Joan)

[goldenboy]

in northern lights by philip pullman, the main characters mother is a bit nasty and in scream 2 the killers mum takes revenge